Mookie Betts made the pivotal defensive and offensive plays of Boston’s 2-1 win over the Astros, throwing out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the sixth inning and hitting a solo home run in the eighth.

By Brian MacPherson@brianmacp

HOUSTON — Friday’s contest between the Red Sox and the first-place Houston Astros brought together perhaps the best two young position-player cores in the American League, a group that featured the likes of Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi.

Even in that group, Mookie Betts stood out.

Betts made the pivotal defensive and offensive plays of Boston’s 2-1 win over the Astros on Friday, throwing out the potential go-ahead run at the plate in the sixth inning and hitting a solo home run in the eighth.

The Betts home run off Houston reliever Will Harris was his third in three days — he hit two in a sensational display Wednesday at Philadelphia — and his 12th of the season. It was the first pitch thrown by Harris, who relieved Mike Fiers after Fiers had mostly flummoxed Boston hitters with his changeup and curveball. The Betts home run wound up being the difference-maker in an unlikely pitchers’ duel between Fiers and inconsistent Red Sox lefty Drew Pomeranz.

The home run still wouldn’t have given the Red Sox the lead had Betts not thrown out George Springer at the plate two innings earlier — a play made possible by an inexplicable decision to send Springer by Astros third-base coach Gary Pettis.

Pomeranz had issued back-to-back two-out walks in the sixth inning, seeming to lose command of his fastball. He then allowed a line-drive single on a curveball over the middle to Correa. The ball got to Betts so quickly that Betts didn’t even have a chance to charge it, instead fielding it with his feet under him and then unleashing a throw. Springer wasn’t yet at third base when Betts came up with the ball and was barely halfway between third and home when the throw reached Christian Vazquez. Springer had time to offer a concession speech before he was tagged out.

The mistake by Pettis helped Pomeranz escape what to that point was the lone opportunity with a runner in scoring position Houston had against Pomeranz. The only run Pomeranz would allow in the game came an inning later on the final pitch he threw, a fastball out over the plate to Brian McCann that McCann obliterated.

By then, Pomeranz had recorded an out in the seventh inning for just the second time all season. It was an encouraging bounce-back outing for a pitcher who yielded five earned runs and couldn’t finish the fifth inning five days earlier against Detroit.

Houston put a runner at third base in the seventh inning (against Joe Kelly) and eighth inning (against Matt Barnes) but couldn’t push a key run across on either occasion.